1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stepping motor control system suitable for driving, e.g., a carriage of a recording apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, stepping motors are popularly used as driving sources for industrial equipment since they have high rotational positioning precision. Among industrial equipment, stepping motors are popularly used as driving motors for so-called OA equipment.
In recording apparatuses as well, stepping motors are often used as driving sources of carriages with recording heads. Upon driving a carriage, a stepping motor is normally used in the slew section outside the self-activation section. Hence, the stepping motor is made to rise at a low frequency in the self-activation section, and accelerated to a predetermined use frequency. To stop the stepping motor, the stepping motor is decelerated from the predetermined use frequency, and made to fall to the low frequency in the self-activation section. The above-mentioned driving method is normally used in a stepping motor for driving a carriage. As such frequency vs. time acceleration/deceleration curve of the stepping motor, a linear curve, exponential function curve, S-shaped curve, and the like are normally used since they have high torque characteristics and vibration characteristics. Furthermore, in order to improve the vibration characteristics and the like in a limited arrangement, for example, a control method of supplying a pulse with a long duration that deviates from the predetermined acceleration/deceleration curve during acceleration is used.
However, since the S-shaped driving curve is calculated from a higher-order (third-order or higher) equation, elaborate and time-consuming calculations are required. Furthermore, innumerable curves are available depending on the portions of the curve to be used as the driving curve, how a large number of variables and parameters are set, and the like. Also, calculations and confirmation of such variable, parameters, and the like require much labor. On the other hand, a manual input method that does not use any equations requires much labor due to repeated trials and errors. For the above-mentioned reasons, demand has arisen for a method that can easily form a good driving curve within a short period of time.